{"id":120662,"date":"2020-10-13T11:00:31","date_gmt":"2020-10-13T10:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/?p=120662"},"modified":"2023-03-01T21:52:34","modified_gmt":"2023-03-01T21:52:34","slug":"apathy-stop-caring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/apathy-stop-caring.htm","title":{"rendered":"Apathy – Why It Matters If You Stop Caring About Anything"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"apathy\"

photo by: fotografierende<\/p><\/div>\n

by Andrea M. Darcy<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The world is a mess<\/a> and it’s made you stop caring. About, well\u2026. anything. Is it okay to feel like nothing matters? Or are there times when apathy is a serious red flag? <\/span><\/p>\n

Define apathy?<\/span><\/h3>\n

Apathy can be defined as a state of indifference and the inability to act.<\/strong> We lack motivation<\/a> and also the ability to care that we are unmotivated. <\/span>A<\/span>pathy is also about a lack of emotions<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Despite years of research around ‘rational choice theory’, it turns out that us humans need to feel things to take action<\/strong>. As a research paper from Harvard<\/a> clarifies, “emotions constitute powerful, pervasive, and predictable drivers of decision making.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Is it apathy? Symptoms to look for <\/span><\/h3>\n

But how can you know it\u2019s actually apathy and not just<\/strong> the \u2018blahs\u2019, or feeling bored<\/a>? <\/span><\/p>\n

Apathy can affect three areas, that<\/strong>\u00a0research has defined<\/a> [1] as emotional-affective (how our emotions lead to actions), cognitive (our ability to make plans), and auto-activation or behavioural (our ability to decide to think things through and take action).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This translates into symptoms like:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n